On Thursday, KCRA 3 asked Senate President pro tem Darrell Steinberg if he had received any word from Calderon.

"No," the Senate leader said. "This is an ongoing investigation, and it will take its course."

Steinberg later said he had heard from Calderon "by text, just to check in."

"When are you expecting him back at the Capitol?" KCRA 3's Mike Luery asked Steinberg.

Steinberg responded: "I don't know. Next week is the budget week."

Much of the talk at the Capitol surrounds a bill Calderon authored two years ago, SB 701, which contained language benefiting a Southern California water district represented by the senator's brother, Tom Calderon -- a former assemblyman who, at the time the bill was authored, served as a consultant to the district.

Sen. Calderon pulled his bill from committee, and it died before there was a vote.

But Calderon's actions as a lawmaker were being challenged by a community group on Thursday.

Three dozen activists from Los Angeles County, all wearing yellow T-shirts identifying themselves as the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, held a news conference blasting Calderon on the south steps of the Capitol.

"Sen. Calderon, what is wrong with you?" said Peggy Mears, the organizer of the event. "There's an epidemic in the elected officialdom of accepting gifts, and we want this to stop."

Finance records filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission show that Calderon leads the Senate when it comes to accepting free gifts.

"Sen. Calderon has received twice as many gifts on average than any other legislator," said Phillip Ung, a policy advocate for California Common Cause. "He has received gifts that have allowed him to travel to Maui."

Ung told KCRA 3 that in 2012, Calderon received close to $8,000 in gifts, averaging close to $330 per gift.

"The rest of the Legislature averages close to $100 per gift," Ung said. "You need to clean Sacramento up. We need to get rid of the gifts."

"We don't need Christmas year-round. We don't need your birthday year-round," said Abdullah Muhammad, a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.

Calderon is now represented by Los Angeles attorney Mark Geragos, who has insisted his client is innocent.

Common Cause said it had no direct knowledge of any illegal activities by Calderon, but on the issue of legal gifts, Ung told KCRA 3, "Mr. Calderon is a public official who enjoys the perks of being a public official."

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